Writer's Block
by Canadino
Summary: We all have it one time or another...and sometimes the people around us don't help at all. mentions of asian shortness, yaoi briefly and...Jane Eyre? What is this?


**Disclaimer: If Shaman King were mine, I wouldn't need to write fanfics. If any of these songs were mine, I wouldn't be writing fanfics.**

Background music: ---

Writer's Block

Horokeu was an author. Amazing, as Ren had so sarcastically put it. Horo had a knack for fluently combining words together to make actual good-sounding sentences. Although he didn't know how anyone (Ren) could have thought differently, he actually had a pretty sound vocabulary; he just didn't feel like divulging it. And who said the Ainu are all idiots? He couldn't speak for his sister, but he knew he wasn't a complete air brain if his editor was at his heels at all times demanding a manuscript by Friday. He could write, even Ren admitted that. He was a whiz at coming up with completely random, serendipitous plotlines that wove themselves out to be a complete work of art.

And yet today, sitting rather frustrated in front of his computer, the only word on the page was 'The'.

"Oh damn." Yeah, he told the editor he was near finished but he hadn't written a single word, let alone the title. And the title was usually the first and easiest thing to come up with. And all he had was 'The'.

Brainstorming was out of the question because obviously if he had ideas in his mind, he would be writing them.

Peaceful meditation was also out of the question because he had the shortest attention span known to man and he was on a deadline. Honestly, he didn't even know how he made doctor's appointments.

"Oh, damn, damn, damn." Swearing really didn't help but it made him feel a bit better. So did pulling at his damn blue hair, but he didn't want to become prematurely bald so he didn't dare pull any out. Taking a deep breath, he let his fingers have full reign of the keyboard. Maybe if he didn't think, something wonderful would happen.

Aldknvliadsnfalsdivnalkdsnfoaidknenvlakdivndladkpiend

Well, that was successful.

"Still working?" Horo turned to the door of his room with a scowl. Lyserg leaned against the doorway with an amused smirk. "I told you you should have done work instead of going out to drink with everyone."

"First of all, I _would_ be working if _someone_ didn't just distract me," Horo said, trying to look like he had really been hard at work. "I just lost my train of thought, thanks."

As the room wasn't very large in size (yes, Horo's books hadn't hit the charts long enough to get him out of Flame Inn, and he liked being with his friends anyway), Lyserg merely had to lean over the Ainu's shoulder to take a peek at Horo's 'train of thought'. "Al dick nivliad…what is this, German?"

"Yes, it's a German novel. Gosh."

Lyserg's smirk grew. "larimixum blah"

Horo frowned. "What the hell does that mean?"

"You're German."

Horo decided to lose this battle. "What are you doing here anyway? Don't you have some children's books to be drawing?"

"I'm an illustrator, thanks. And I've got the roughs done already so no big deal."

"Roughs?"

"Rough drafts, idiot! Honestly, I don't know how you write with that brain of yours." Lyserg shook his head. "I was just checking on you, that's all. The ones who publish around here should stick together, eh?"

True, true. Yoh barely made it by temping and Anna even had to get a job to help support the Inn. Choco had left to tour the world with his comedy act (not). Hao was currently trying not to get fired at a stir-fry restaurant…and all he was doing was showing people to their tables. Yes, only Lyserg and Horo had gotten solid jobs in the publishing field and were eager to keep it.

"So what's your thing about?"

"My _thing_ is about these two people…"

"Bob and Sue?"

"Yeah, maybe Bob and Sue."

"Horo."

"Yes?"

"You wrote about Bob and Sue's relationship in your last three books. You tore down and reinvented each meeting and romantic encounter for each one. I'm surprised this isn't a series."

"Your point being?"

"Never mind. So what are ol' Bob and Sue doing today?"

"I was thinking of having them meet at a shrine maybe. Or maybe have them be childhood friends and have another guy…oh, yeah, Ian, be trying to win Sue over and Bob gets all defensive but he doesn't want to fight back cause Ian's his…brother."

Lyserg stared at him with all his green-eyed-no-jealousy-included glory. In all seriousness, he asked (or rather said), "His brother."

"His brother."

"Where do you get this ridiculous material?" Lyserg scanned the room. The only reading material he saw in Horo the Author's room were a few hastily shoved away pornos and a couple of manga. Not very ideal for a sophisticated author.

"Tried and true. I look for inspiration in other's works. Then I look at my own life. And apply my imagination. Try it," Horo added sarcastically.

"In other words, you read yaoi and various other doujinshi, them imagine up your own scenario?"

"Um…yeah."

"Dear god. And now what?"

"The yaoi isn't helping. I've exhausted my imagination bank."

"Well, you'd better go invest some cause there are people waiting for some of your shit, believe it or not."

"It's not as easy at it looks! I can't just randomly take things from my life and put it in the story! It's an alternate universe! Such as, I can't take Bob and Sue and remake them to be like us! That wouldn't be original!"

"Honestly Horo, I also doubt anyone would want to read about how we got drunk at Hao and Yoh's birthday party and we had some horizontal shenanigans and now wham a few months later we're regulars at each other. I mean, how horribly cliché."

"Yeah." Horo looked Lyserg over as the latter searched the room and inspected the mess it was in. Honestly did everyone expect the pretty Brit to fall for someone like the twins? Yes, Hao was a flirt, but he was also Asian and sadly a few inches shorter than a typical European. It would have been more realistic to pair Lyserg up with Choco. He also didn't see the logic in some's suggestions of a pedophiliship with Marco, the man who wrote the children's books that Lyserg illustrated. Obviously Lyserg didn't seem like the kind of person who would go for that sort of thing.

He supposed he was also Asian, but he was also blessed with height.

"You're such a stupid asshole."

And he could hold his own against Lyserg's scathing personality. Oh yes, some might think the Diethyl to be a charming angel, and while yes, he appeared so at first, but he got worse and worse and strangely even more charming. It was like a Jane Eyre kind of storyline – Rochester marries a pretty woman and realizes she's insane. But he came from Hokkaido. The winters there were hell frozen over. He could handle a slightly deranged person. And anyway, the bedroom activities were good, although Lyserg kept trying to top.

"Well, I pray for your success," Lyserg said, throwing the sarcastic barb over his shoulder as he left. "Your editor is a crazy man."

"Hey, you could help speed things up with a kiss?"

"In your effing dreams, Usui. In your effing dreams."

That was it! Horo quickly turned back to the screen, suddenly flushed with inspiration. Quickly hitting the backspace button to delete the German gibberish, he raised his fingers over the keyboard and quickly let them loose before the idea disappeared.

The…Dream.

All he had left to do was think of the circumstances and the chance meetings and the character plot and character development and to avoid run-ons and what did he have for lunch that day he couldn't remember and the antagonists and the damn Mary Sues and…

Owari

Note: Possibly the best stuff I'm come up with. And I'm in ANOTHER writer's block. I let it all out. WHAT THE F you are thinking. Jane Eyre? Horo, an author? Yaoi? Yes, I know, I'm surprised too. And this is another side of Lyserg you have never seen in my fics. Possibly a start of a new year? (2009?) Mankinfan is not dead yet!


End file.
